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Studio C Alpha
After the Awesome Adventure Machine deemed to problematic and expensive to replace the 3 Stage and CEC Stage with, CEC Entertainment came up with the much cheaper Studio C concept. What is exactly Studio C? It is a one character, one stage animatronic show. But why did they decide to make it a one character show? What about the other characters? Well, at this time in CEC history, they wanted to eliminate Chuck E. Cheese's four friends and keep the entire restaurant concept, and show concept, all about him. Talk about being the center of attention! But the concept of a Chuck-only show failed. Thankfully, when Jeremy Blaido took over Department 18 as Director of Entertainment in August 1998...he started making shows with bigger roles for Chuck E's four pals. But I'm jumping ahead of myself. First let me explain the Studio C stage itself. The Stages Studio C (Alpha version) gave the showroom a very movie-studio style look...with TV's, cameras, and lights scattered about the entire room. The stage itself has a very 'late night show' look, with a city-scape background behind the Chuck E animatronic. First, there are colored lights scattered about the ceiling in the showroom. The three different colored lights are amber, green, and blue. Each of these lights should be directed in different directions around the room...some shining on the floor, and some shining on the tables. When the lights flash on the tables it is a pretty neat effect, especially during birthday partys when there is the white table cloth on the tables. There are also two "Live" flood lights on the ceiling, which shine only during Live Shows. And finally, there are two spot lights for the characters...one for Chuck E, and the other for Bird. Also on the ceiling are some really great lighting effects. This includes two "Roboscans". These effects shine different lights onto the ground that move in different directions and change patterns. There is also a "Gemini", which is a double-sided disco-ball that is located in the Blue Screen Stage. A "Warp" projects different colored patterns onto Chuck E's stage. This is one of the best effects, but if the wrong kind of bulbs are bought then they burn out fast. Then there are some "Fiber Optic Tubes" which change color on the ceiling. Also, there is a big 'Applause' sign, and a big 'On The Air' sign...that flash accordingly. Next up is what I call the "Blue Screen Stage". This is the furthest left area of Studio C (if you are facing the setup). The Blue Screen Stage consists of a blue screen, and a video camera. The 'live' video camera shoots people standing in front of the blue screen, and pops them up onto the overhead TV's. This makes you feel like you are actually in the show! In a few stores, they tested a karaoke option to go along with the blue screen area called Chuck E's Star Search...but the concept failed in 2001 and not every Alpha got to have it. The Blue Screen Stage also has bright spot lights...which makes it very hot if you stand on the stage for a very long time. On a side note, the Blue Screen Stage can be a very costly investment for Studio C. Kids interacting with the video camera (which can swing left and right) can easily break it, and fingerprints and grease easily show up on the blue screen itself. Amazing what damage kids can do when you allow them to interact with these kinds of things. One more problem is when the camera gets terribly damaged, the video that is projected on the blue screen gets screwed up. So sometimes if you're watching the monitors, you can see terrible static from the damaged camera. Other Features Next up on our tour is what I call the 'Interactive Console'. Located in the middle of Studio C, this interactive item has three TV screens, and a whole bunch of buttons to press and play with. The first TV screen is actually a monitor that is hooked up to the games of www.chuckecheese.com. Using a rolling ball mouse, kids can play the games and check out different areas of the official website. Next to the rolling mouse are three buttons that make different sound effects, such as applause, boom, etc. Next up is a TV monitor that is hooked up to different play cameras (not security cameras) that are placed around the entire restaurant. By pressing buttons, kids can switch between the Blue Screen Stage camera, the video footage of the show, a camera located in the gameroom, a camera located near Kid Check, and a camera located in the showroom. Talk about being a peeping tom! Next to the buttons controlling the second monitor are three buttons that you can press to hear three different character voices. These are Chuck E, Larry, and Bird. Unfortunately, these can be very loud sometimes and distract from the show. I can hear Larry yell "Lights! Camera! Action!" all the way from Kid Check sometimes. Finally, the last TV monitor is hooked up to the roving camera in the showroom. This is the most popular item of the Interactive Console. With a joystick, you can control a video camera that can spy around the entire showroom. By pressing the zooming options, you can zoom in and out and check out some of the cute girls in the room. Just kidding! In all, the Interactive Console was a great play thing for kids just like the Blue Screen Stage. But like everything else you let kids play with, these Consoles can really get some bad wear and tear. Also, I have to mention that there are colored lights underneath the Interactive Console...don't forget these are there and need to be replaced when burned out! Next, let's talk about the TV monitors. There are A LOT of monitors in Studio C showrooms. In the center of Studio C (above the Interactive Console) is a big screen TV...and the focal point of the shows. On the sides of the Blue Screen and Chuck E stages are two more monitors (slightly smaller), and they are put into shelves built into the walls. In the corners of the showroom are two small monitors. On the Blue Screen Stage itself, there are two monitors hanging from the ceiling, and one located in the camera. Finally, there are many TV's located in the center of the room, and they form a triangle pattern outward. I've seen some stores with 5 monitors, and some I've seen 7. Either way, it would be tough to not be able to see the show with so many monitors scattered about the room! Now let's talk about Chuck E. Probably one of the most advanced and beautifully crafted animatronics I have ever seen in an entertainment restaurant, this character is the centerpiece of the entire Studio C concept. Guess we know where all the money went to! Chuck E has many, many movements...including a foot tap, ear wiggle, eyebrows up and down, eyelids up and down, eyes left and right, head turn left and right, head tilt up, nose up, mouth down, head turn right and left, body tilt right and left, body tilt forward, body turn right and left, arms up, elbows bend, wrist turns...and probably many more. I believe there are around 32 - 34 movements in all! Let me tell you this is one awesome character! And fixing him is easy, too. His head unscrews from the sides and the back comes off. All cylinders are not suppose to be re-built like other animatronic show characters...but replaced instead. The fur and clothing velcro off. In all, it shouldn't take much work to take care of this character if you watch the diagnostics everyday. Some major points from the diagnostics: don't use oils or any lube in this character! It wasn't built to use that kind of stuff!!! Also make sure to air-dry the character in and out. Finally to note, the character was built with a free-movement mechanism in its body. So if your Chuck E shakes then it is fine. Technical Information Originally, this stage ran with laserdiscs and in 1999 was upgraded to a DVD system. There are three DVD players in all to run the show: one does the video footage (like what you see on tapes). The next does the puppet footage. The 3rd player is used for LIVEs / Birthday shows. The Blue Screen footage plays from whichever player is programmed to show it at any given time. Each DVD contains the following (if not more): video footage, puppet footage, intermissions, and live shows/diagnostics. To run a new show, the store is sent a software upgrade floppy disk along with the three DVDs. The software upgrade makes the previous show invalid, and programs the movements and tells the DVDs what to do...when to play intermissions and skits, etc. There is a touch screen panel where live shows, diagnostics, birthday shows, etc. can be programmed. When starting up Studio C in the morning, it asks the employee to type in birthday kids' names so during the birthday shows, the kids' names will flash on the screen. Diagnostics can be selected from the panel, and there is also a password feature. The cast member password allows programming of live shows, birthday breaks, and birthday shows. The manager password allows all of the above, plus diagnostics, tech term movements, and allows the show to be shut down. In the early 2010s, various upgrades have been made to Studio C Alpha such as replacing the Interactive Console with a CEC panel and flashing lights. In mid-2013, many Chuck E. Cheese locations removed the cameras from the Blue Screen for all types of Studio C setups. Many Studio C locations now have the Ticket Blaster ''standing in front of the Blue Screen. History / Additional Information Well, that is the entire stage set-up in a nutshell. Now let's get to the juicy stuff. First of all, remember when I said above that there is more to Chuck E's desk? Well, early on, there were many problems stores had with this thing, such as Chuck E's right hand would commonly brush up against it...and the wear and tear eventually leads the store to having to replace the hand. The desk is way to close to Chuck E, so the programmers have to make sure not to program the arm movements anywhere to close to it. Guess what I'm trying to say is that the Studio C Chuck E animatronic will never live up to its full potential. The other problem with the desk is that it 'invites' kids to climb onto the stage (believe it or not). Think about it: since the desk covers half of Chuck E's body, kids standing close to the stage usually can't see above it and his face. So a natural kids' reaction would be to climb the desk to get to Chuck E. The bottom of the desk has plenty of space for feet when climbing, and the lighting panels on the side have little outward grooves in them that is perfect for the climb up. This is a major hazard and a problem in the design. It wears the character, and it could cause major accidents to those who climb the structure. That is probably why Studio C Beta does not have that desk. I do not believe the desk was built to keep kids out, but was rather there as a show/theme element. The only other problem I can see with the character is the latex nose. The paint easily peels off the nose, and it takes much more than magic marker to replace the peeling paint. I always see fading noses when I go to Studio C stores, and this is a shame. Another problem is Chuck E's eyelashes. All the stores by my place had to replace their eyelashes with smaller ones...because kids would pull them off with ease. Next, let's talk about Bird and the elimination of Chuck's friends. As stated above, one of the reasons why Chuck E was the only character in this show is because Helen, Jasper, Munch, and Pasqually were going to be phased out. But with successful shows like 'Time Travel Review' and 'Dance Party', which featured some great songs by Chuck E's co-stars, the characters were signed another contract to stay with the show. But since having a five-character Studio C would be way too expensive, CEC Entertainemnt decided to have puppet-versions of the co-stars and have them on the monitors along with the video footage. A lot of people don't like this concept, but I enjoy it. I've seen some clever things done with the monitor-bound puppets, and I welcome the concept with open arms. I do admit I was skeptical about it at first, but now I look forward to see what they'll do next. What do I mean? Sometimes the puppets can be even more entertaining and animated than the animatronic robots themselves. Munch in particular...next time you go to a Studio C store make sure to watch some of the mannerisms he does...definitely helps define his outgoing character. But you might ask yourself...what would the show be like without any friends for Chuck E to talk to? Well, that's where Bird comes in. He would have been Chuck E's little sidekick when they would go on adventures and/or sing songs. I'm actually not sure what the shows would be like without Jasper and the rest of the gang...but they probably would have been very boring, like the 1998 shows. Special thanks to the old coordinator and manager for Department 18, Brian and Brent, for their Director's Commentary on the early version of the Studio C diagnostics. I've learned so much on how to take care of the stage from this commentary, and some of this information for the review is taken from their diagnostics information, too. Secrets '*Bird: This character has had only two speaking roles in CEC history. He had a minor part in Dance Party (Apr 99), and a major part in the Fabulous World Adventure (Aug 99). After that, he seemed to disappear from the spotlight, except for doing back-up singing. Some consider him the 'announcer' now in CEC shows, because if you watch him before the curtains open, you'll see his mouth move with the announcer's voice.''' *Studio C Beta replaced Alpha in 2001. This version is a little cheaper but contains many of the best aspects of Alpha. Bird is gone, and so is the Interactive Console. The entire set has changed, too. *Sometimes the Studio C version of a show can be dramatically different than the Existing Stage version. Case in point, the very first few shows with Bird talking in place of Chuck E's friends. Sometimes Chuck E would sing a version of a song instead of his friends, too, such as "Cheese Pizza Is Pure Delight" and "Hip Mouse". Most of the time, the Studio C version has more since they can pop anything onto those dvds very easily. This includes the blue screen music 'Interactive' intermissions, which makes that Blue Screen Stage useful. They also have to make intermissions longer for Studio C for live show programming. *Early on, the dvds had to be placed in the correct player (they used numbers...dvd # 1, etc.) Now that each dvd contains all show information, it doesn't matter which dvd goes into which player. *There are four ways to test the character movements and lights: The Tech Term, the panel underneath Chuck E, the show diagnostics, and the touch screen panel. *Chuck E wears a very dressy looking vest and shirt. But now, this costume is being replaced with the blue 'Cool Chuck' outfit, as seen in new Beta stores. In 2007, stores began recieve the all new "Avenger" outfit, which is the green and purple *It was once rumored that there will be a five character Studio C since the one character show didn't fair well with guests and fans. I don't know if this rumor was ever true because we got a downsized Beta instead. Come to think of it, a five character show would be too costly nowadays anyway...plus a maintenance nightmare if all the characters were as advanced as Chuck E. *The Studio C character and elements were created by Garner-Holt Category:Stages